Cheap Easter holidays: Strength of the pound means bargains for British tourists

Families booking an overseas getaway to popular destinations this Easter – such as Mallorca, Malta, Crete and Barbados – will find that the cost has remained about the same, or even dropped compared with a year ago, new research suggests.

Figures released by M&S Bank show that the relatively strong recent performance of the pound has had a positive impact on the cost of a sunshine break.

This way for cheap holidays: The strength of sterling means there are holiday bargains for Easter

This means that the cost of a one-week holiday for people travelling from the UK has increased at below the rate of inflation in many places – and has even fallen in some destinations – over the last 12 months.

A
week in Cyprus would set a holidaymaker back around £417 – a figure
which equates to a small 0.3 per cent rise when compared to 2013.

The cost of a trip to Tenerife has risen by 0.5 per cent over the last year, to around £429.

The cost of a week-long break in Crete has risen by 0.6 per cent annually to £499 per person, the research shows.

The Caribbean is also promising good value.

One week in Barbados costs around four times the price of a holiday in Mallorca, at around £1,047 per person according to the study.

However, this expense has only increased by 0.4 per cent over the last year – which is well below the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rate of inflation (at 1.7 per cent).

The Dominican Republic has seen the biggest decrease in price since last year, with a 1.2 per cent fall in cost.

Favourable exchange rates have made a week-long holiday to this Caribbean enclave £46 cheaper than at Easter 2013, the report finds.

Of the places covered, a holiday to Mauritius has seen the biggest price jump, rising by 1.5 per cent.

Flights for a family of four to Mauritius cost almost £4,000, according to the survey.

Far-flung fantasies: Barbados (left) and Mauritius (right) are in reach for roughly the same price as last year

Fraser Millar of M&S Bank, says: ‘The strong performance of the pound has had a significant impact on the average cost of a sunshine break this Easter, which is great news for UK holidaymakers planning to head abroad in April.’